Fundamentals of Ethics ch 5-8

True or False: good human beings are those who don't fulfill their true nature;bad human beings are those who do

false, with natural law theory moral law is the natural law- the law that requires us to act in accordance with our nature.

Which assumption does this statement belong to? "Without belief in God, people are more likely to stray from the path of virtue."

first assumption

according to natural law theory, how old is morality?

natural law theory tells us that morality is only as old as humanity itself, dating to the earliest days of mankind.

What does Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) say about human nature?

"humans are innately selfish"

1) It violates core moral beliefs - egoism might require rape, murder, and torture whenever these are in our self-interest 2) Egoism cannot allow for the existence of moral rights -any harm whatsoever is unjustified if it is in a person's self-interests to commit it 3) Egoism arbitrarily makes my interests all-important - egoism must explain what justifies an absolute bias in favor of our own interests over others - How do we decide when interests conflict?

What are the problems for Ethical Egoism?

1) The self-reliant argument 2) the libertarian argument

What are the two popular arguments for Ethical Egoism?

Actions are morally right just because they best promote one's self-interest. It describes what we are morally required and forbidden to do. Specifically, it says that there is one ultimate moral duty-to improve your own well-being as best you can.

What does Ethical Egoism State?

How does Natural Law theory claim to be able to solve Hume's challenge?

according to Natural Law theory, moral knowledge requires only two things: we must know what our human nature is, and know whether various actions fulfill it. thought by Natural law theorists to be empirical evidence

omniscient

all-knowing

why aren't moral claims conceptual truths?

because we can completely understand it and still wonder if it is true.

Psychological egoism aims to _____________ the facts and limits of human motivation, rather than __________ the standards that we ought to live up to.

describe, prescribe

Psychological egoism is a _______________ theory about how we do behave, it does not tell us about how we __________ to be have

descriptive, ought

What is the ring of Gyges

A story from Plato's Republic about a ring that makes the user invisible. In this story, Gyges the shepherd, is corrupted and Kills the king, captures the throne, and weds the queen. He satisfies every want with no repercussions.

If the assumption that religious belief is needed for moral motivation (assumption 1) is true, are religious people more likely to be conscientious or good?

Conscientious. Conscientious doesn't always translate to good. If hope for heavenly reward or fear of God's anger is what prompts us to do good, then we may well do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. IE, the Spanish inquisition acted in great conscience, but not much good.

Who said there is a gap between what is and what ought to be, a gap that can never be crossed?

David Hume Because moral claims are neither Conceptual or Empiral, we can never know which moral conclusion to draw.

1) If an ethical theory requires killing, raping, or stealing, just because such actions promote self-interest, then that theory cannot be true. 2) Ethical egoism sometimes requires such things (as rape, stealing, or killing) just because they sometimes do promote self-interest 3) thus, ethical egoism cannot be true

Describe the challenge for Ethical Egoism

What is the second assumption?

God is the creator of morality.

what did Jean-Jacques Reusseau (1712-1778) say about human nature?

Humans are by nature pleasant, cooperative, and considerate, and society is what is corrupts"

According to Natural Law Theorists, what are the 2 models of Natural Purposes

Efficiency Model and Fitness Model

objections to homosexual sex

- it is unnatural - unusual or abnormal - not practiced by other animals - violates principle purpose for sex (procreation) - disgusting or offensive - homosexual sex harms those engaged in it/ 3rd parties - homosexual sex is forbidden by biblical teaching - accepting homosexual sex puts us on a slippery slope, leaving us no reason for rejecting polygamy, incest, and beastiality

Arguments in favor of homosexual sex

-sex is pleasurable - sex can express affection and intimacy, bonding a couple as virtually nothing else can essentially homosexual sex serves all the same functions as heterosexual sex where one of both partners cannot procreate

What are the two Egoist strategies used to try to show that the evidence of altruism is overrated.

1) Appeal to the guilty conscience (so you can sleep at night) 2) Expand the realm of self-interest (e.g. really in one's interest to not see other people suffer)

What are the 5 Arguments for God's Creation of Morality (assumption 2)

1) Every law requires a lawmaker 2) therefore, the moral law requires a lawmaker 3) Humans cannot be the author of the moral law (since we are imperfect in so many ways) 4) If humans cannot be the author of the moral law, then God is its author 5) Therefore, God is the author of the moral law

If the assumption that religious belief is needed for moral motivation (assumption 1) is true, what would explain it?

1) Fear of god, the devil, and hell 2) Desire for an afterlife 3) faith that those who do good will be rewarded and sinners will be punished.

Those who seek divine guidance in trying to lead a moral life may succeed. But several conditions must be met. What are they? (third assumption)

1) God exists 2) God must offer us moral advice and we must be able to defend the claim that He does so 3) Theists must be justified in selecting a particular source: the bible, Koran, etc. 4) theists must also defend specific interpretations of those sources. 5) when interpretation conflicts with historical religious tradition, believers must argue for the priority of one over the other (eye for an eye, stoning adulterers)

What problems in ethics does natural law theory explain?

1) How morality could be objective, and depend on something other than human opinion 2) Why morality is specially suited for human beings, and not for anything else in the natural world. 3) Gives a clear account of the origins of morality 4) solves one of the hardest problems in ethics: how to gain moral knowledge

What are the Three Conceptions of Human Nature?

1) Human Nature is animal nature 2) Human nature is what is innately human 3) Human nature is what all humans have in common

List the Implications of Psychological Egoism

1) If psychological egoism is true, then we can't be altruistic 2) If we can't be altruistic, then it can't be our duty to be altruistic 3) Therefore, if psychological egoism is true, then it can't be our duty to be altruistic 4) Psychological egoism is true 5) Therefore, it can't be our duty to be altruistic

What are the problems with the Divine Command Theory? (assumption 2)

1) It makes morality depend on God's commands. But God may not exist 2) Deists believe God may exist, but may not command us to do anything 3) The Euthyphro Argument

Marriage argument

1) Marriage is defined as a relation between a man and a woman 2) homosexual relations are between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman 3) Therefore, homosexual relations can never qualify as a marriage

What are the three assumptions about the view that morality depends on religion?

1) Religious belief is needed for moral motivation 2) Morality must be created by someone, and God is by far the best candidate for the job 3) Religious wisdom is the key to providing us with moral guidance

What are the three central arguments that seek to establish the truth of psychological egoism.

1) The Argument from Our Strongest Desires 2) The Argument from Expected Benefit 3) The Argument from Avoiding Misery

What does the Argument from Our Strongest Desires claim?

1) Whenever you do something, you are motivated by your strongest desire. 2) Whenever you are motivated by your strongest desire, you are pursuing your self-interest 3) Therefore, whenever you do something, you are pursuing your self-interest

What are some considerations of the third assumption? (there are 5)

1) those who are not religious will need to look elsewhere for moral guidance 2) they are right to do so, since God might not exist 3) God could exist, yet not offer any advice 4) we must select a source of religious wisdom 5) we must know how to interpret that source

Define Hume's Argument (argument against moral wisdom)

1) we can know only two sorts of claims: conceptual truths or empirical truths 2) Moral claims are neither conceptual truths nor empirical truths 3) Therefore we can have no moral knowledge

What does the Argument from Our Strongest Desires claim?

1) whenever you do something, you expect to be (at least a little bit) better off as a result 2) If you expect to be better off as a result of your actions, then you are aiming to promote your self-interest 3) Therefore, whenever you do something, you are aiming to promote your self-interest

Define Natural Law Theory

Actions are right just because they are natural, and wrong just because they are unnatural. People are good or bad to the extent that they fulfill their true nature-the more they fulfill their true nature, the better they are.

Egoists claim is understood as follows:

All human actions are aimed at avoiding some personal loss or gaining some personal benefit (or both), either in the short run or the long term (or both)

Define the Devine Command Theory (assumption 2)

An act is morally required just because it is commanded by god, and immoral just because God forbids it.

What do Deists claim about God?

Claim that god set creation in motion, and then retired to survey His universe, refusing to involve Himself in human affairs.

1) If you are morally required to do something, then you have good reason to do it 2) If there is good reason for you to do something, then doing it must make you better off 3) Therefore, you you are morally required to do something, then doing it must make you better off.

Describe what the Best Argument for Ethical Egoism is as defined by the text book

What is the Divine Perfection Argument? (assumption 2)

Expresses the Euthyphro Argument. 1) If the divine command theory is true, then a morally perfect God could have created flawless morality that required us to rape, steal, and kill, and forbade us from any acts of kindness or generosity 2) A morally perfect God could not have issued such commands - anyone who did so would be morally imperfect 3) therefore divine command theory is false

True or False: God is needed to create the moral law

False: God is not needed to create the moral law;indeed, a perfect God is one who fully understands, embraces, and adheres to a moral law not of His own making. If God cannot be morally mistaken, it is because His understanding is perfect, because he completely knows the law, and the reasons that support it.

What is the third assumption?

Religion is an essential source of moral guidance. If God exists, but is not the author of the moral law, he could still play a crucial role, in morality, by being it's infallible reporter.

What is the first assumption?

Religious belief is needed for moral motivation.

Does fear of god undermine moral character or support it? (assumption 1)

It undermines moral character. Being well motivated requires a love and respect for the morally important things in life. Being good out of fear or hope for rewards creates an unreliably moral person, because if they stop believing in God, they no longer have reason for moral behavior.

1) If everyone were to mind his own business and tend only to his own needs, then everyone would be better off 2) We ought to do what will make everyone better off 3) Therefore, we each ought to mind our own business and tend only to our own needs.

The Self-Reliant Argument

Define Psychological Egoism

The theory that all human actions are aimed at avoiding some personal loss or gaining some personal benefit. that is to say, there is only one thing that motivates human beings: self-interest.

How is this claim different from the divine command theory? "An act is morally required of GOD commands it, and is immoral if GOD forbids it."

This claim is different in that it doesn't claim an act is right or wrong BECAUSE God commands it, but that his VERDICT is morally decisive.

Which question regarding same-sex marriage can not be settled by establishing a definition?

Whether the state is morally required to give the same legal rights to homosexual couples that it now gives to heterosexuals.

What is the Euthyphro Argument? (assumption 2)

and argument based on a conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro. Socrates asks of Euthyphro, "Do the gods love actions because they are pious, or are actions pious because the gods love them?" Argument: 1) Either God has reasons that support his commands, or God Lacks reasons for his commands 2) If God lacks reasons, then gods commands are arbitrary, and that renders God imperfect 3) If God has reasons, then these reasons, rather than the divine commands, are what make actions right or wrong-refuting the Divine Command Theory 4) therefore either god is imperfect, or the Divine Command Theory is false 5) God is not imperfect 6) therefore the Divine Command Theory is false

why aren't moral claims empirical truths?

because we don't discover them by means of our senses. no amount of scientific probing into the world will reveal any moral features in it. also, empirical knowledge tells us how to describe the world. so what IS the case. moral claims speaks of what OUGHT to be the case.

True or False: Psychological egoism is an ethical theory

false

true/false according to natural law theory, morality depends on human opinions

false natural law states that morality depends on human nature

True or False: Fear of God, or hope for rewards, creates a reliably moral person (assumption 1)

false, being good out of fear (or hope for rewards) creates an unreliably moral person. If the person were to suddenly stop believing in god, they would have no further reason to be moral.

true or false: Failed actions undermine psychological egoism

false, since the theory is not about the results of our actions but about their motivations (intentions)

conceptual truth

one that can be known just by understanding it. you can close your eyes to the world, just think about these claims, and know that they are true no sphere is a cube all integers are even or odd bachelors are unmarried males if a is taller than b, b is taller than c, then a is taller than c

norms

standards we ought to live up to

Which assumption does this statement belong to? "Because morality is a set of norms, there must be someone with authority to create them."

the Second Assumption

altruism

the direct desire to benefit others for their own sake, without any ulterior motive

Describe the Fitness Model described by natural law theorists

the function of a thing is to do whatever enhances fitness or success in survival and reproduction

Describe the Efficiency Model

the function of a thing is whatever it does better than anything else.

Which assumption does this statement belong to? "An act is morally required if God commands it, and is immoral if God forbids it"

the third assumption: This claim is different from the divine command theory in that it doesn't claim an act is wrong BECAUSE god commands it, but that his VERDICT is morally decisive.

Atheism

the view that god does not exist

agnostics

those who are unsure whether god exists

Moral Agents

those who bear responsibility for their actions, and who are fit for praise or blame, are those who can control their behavior through reasoning.

theists

those who believe in God's existence

Innate

traits we have from birth, as opposed to learned or acquired.

true It doesn't describe how we ARE, but rather how we SHOULD be, which is to only worry about your own self-interests

true or false Ethical Egoism is a moral theory

true

true or false It is immoral when you fail to improve your own well-being as best you can.

according to natural law theory, Human nature is an objective source of morality

true, Natural Law theory says that human nature can serve as the objective standard of morality. we do right when our acts express human nature, and wrong when they violate it.

true/false Only humans have the sort of nature that enables them to be moral agents.

true, according to natural law theory, only humans have the sort of nature that enables them to be moral agents.

True or false: If psychological egoism is true, then altruism doesn't exist

true, psych egoism (the idea that there is only one thing that motivates human beings, self-interest) completely contradicts altruism, which is the desire to benefit others without any ulterior motive.

True/false Egoism is a theory about human motivation

true. There are two sorts of evidence, testimony and behavior.

empirical truths

truths that are known only by relying on evidence from our five senses. (description of what IS) I live in a house that was built in 1915, it was raining in london on a specific date the pacific ocean is larger than the atlantic david hume never married....